Hugh Huges : Story of a Rabbit (Leeds)

Hugh Hughes returns with another deftly woven story performed with his usual charm and energy. In a lengthy pre-amble Hughes lays out his common themes; death, existence, experience, memory.

Intertwining two stories about death, one involving the eponymous rabbit, the other about something much closer to home, Hughes muses on the nature of death and what we leave behind after we’re gone.

These are huge themes and along with projected quotes from the likes of Bunuel and Wittgenstein there is a driving sense that Hughes is guiding the audience to a definite and enlightening denouement. Unfortunately this doesn’t come. Hughes’ final assertion is so simplistic that it renders everything that has gone before as almost frivolous.

Hughes is a highly engaging performer who uses dance, music, props and video to effectively reel us in to his world. His stage craft is considerable and it is evident how carefully thought out every single beat of the performance is; no prop is wasted and every seemingly throw-away line from the introduction comes back to feed in to the core themes of the show. There is much to enjoy but it just lacks the final punch that all this work, and the audience, deserves.